[[quoteright:296:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beavercrush1.jpg]][[caption-width-right:296:See it and laugh. Then feel terrible for doing so. [[CrossesTheLineTwice And then laugh again]].]]

->''"How does it feel to be killed by the very research you dedicated your life to?"''-->-- '''Nui Harime''', ''Anime/KillLaKill''

This trope occurs when a character is killed in an [[{{Irony}} allegorical]] or lyrical manner; often this is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard due to their own actions]]. A favoured fate in {{traged|y}}ies, or to kill off The Villain of the Story. If they are killed by their own [[{{pride}} hubris]], then the hero doesn't have to get their hands dirty and instead has a chance to demonstrate their moral fibre by attempting to SaveTheVillain or say AlasPoorVillain. If the cause of death is too trite or unlikely, it will challenge the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief, so be careful.

The more lethal variations of HoistByHisOwnPetard, TurnedAgainstTheirMasters and VehicularTurnabout double as examples of this trope. When frequently {{invoked|Trope}} by one person, it falls under PoeticSerialKiller. Compare RussianReversal for a humorous play on this.

[[folder:Comic Books]]* A ''ComicBook/StarWarsTales'' comic is told entirely from the perspective of a career storm trooper who's about to board the ''[[Film/ANewHope Tantive IV]]''. As he thinks back on his life in the military and the things he's done, his ruminations are interspersed with the present as the Star Destroyer pulls the ship into its docking bay and they prepare to board. The man dreads being chosen to be sent in first, because the guy sent in first ''always'' dies--he's seen it dozens of times. [[TemptingFate Naturally, the sergeant chooses him.]] They set the charge on the door, and the storm trooper dryly remarks on its functionality, designed to blow the door inward and hopefully make the enemy flinch. And for once... it works. The rebels flinch, buying the man time to get into the hallway and start shooting. And right behind him, the sergeant that ordered him in first is shot in the face.* Franchise/TheDCU:** This is the fate of Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}'s mother, Queen Heggra. She didn't appreciate how her son was falling in love with a beautiful and understanding scientist, Suli, so she had the court poisoner, Desaad, poison her potential daughter-in-law. Darkseid returned the sentiment by having Desaad poison her, too. This parley would eventually come back to bite Desaad in the ass, too. When Darkseid accidentally freed his [[AlwaysABiggerFish father, Yuga Khan]] from the Source Wall, Desaad grovelled before him, telling him how his service to Darkseid "was a lie." Yuga Khan then reminded Desaad how he murdered his beloved wife, then promptly disintegrated the sniveling toad. He came back with help from Darkseid after Yuga Khan, ironically, got himself re-stuck in the Source Wall.** A possible future demise for noted immortal villain Comicbook/VandalSavage. In ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'', after having lived up to the 853rd century, Savage goes back in time to the 20th-century and arrives in Montevideo, Uruguay just in time to get caught in a nuclear blast that devastates the city...an attack that is ordered by 20th-century Savage.* In the older ''ComicBook/IronMan'' comics, Iron Man traveled back in time to AncientEgypt where he fought an EvilSorcerer called the Mad Pharaoh. The latter tripped and fell to his death on the blade of one of his swords, something that is described by Iron Man as "ironic".* [[SinisterMinister Reverend Craig]] of various ''ComicBook/XMen'' media got this in ''ComicBook/XForce''; he lures his illegitimate mutant daughter, Rahne Sinclair, aka Wolfsbane, into the clutches of his current allies, the Purifiers, so she can be {{Mind Rape}}d into becoming an assassin. During the fighting, her conditioning gets tripped by accident on his part and she attacks, kills and ''eats'' him. Making things more poignant is that he has tried to kill her ''repeatedly'' since her mutant powers first manifested.* Peter Bagge's ''ComicBook/ApocalypseNerd'' centers around two men, Perry and Gordo, who avoided getting Nuked by North Korea by camping in the Cascade Mountains. While staying in the cabin owned by Gordo's friend, the owner comes back and holds Perry at gunpoint. Gordo kills him, and it becomes apparent afterwards that the owner was dying of radiation sickness, and Gordo keeps the man's gun for himself. At the end of the story, Gordo goes back to the cabin, now occupied by Perry and his pregnant girlfriend and tries to blackmail her into letting him stay, but she refuses because he too is dying from radiation sickness, likely from the stolen gun he kept in his pants. Just as Gordo's going to shoot himself, Perry kills him first, thinking Gordo tried to attack Midge.* Part of ComicBook/RedSonja's combat prowess is her unstoppable battle rage. One evil wizard curses her to be unable to forgive, intending that she lose control of her rage and either be killed by an angry mob or exiled to a lonely death for it.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]* Raven in ''FanFic/TheTaintedGrimoire'' killed Sir Loin by burning him. Raven's own death came about by burning '''him'''.* [[BigBad Ludlow]] in ''FanFic/RiseOfTheGaleforces''. In Chapter 25 he reveals himself to be an OmnicidalManiac who intends to destroy all non-human life. 10 chapters later, [[ExitPursuedByABear he is himself destroyed by non-human life.]]* In ''Fanfic/TheNorthRemembers'', the Late Lord Walder Frey is notorious throughout the Seven Kingdoms for being extremely untrustworthy, particularly when he [[TheOathBreaker betrays his liege lord Edmure Tully]] for personal gain at the [[MoralEventHorizon Red Wedding]]. He is then betrayed by House Lannister, the house that had promised him power, when they take away his daughter Roslin, who is married to said liege lord, and execute her because Edmure had allowed Robb Stark's widow to escape with Ser Brynden Tully. He then promptly dies after hearing the news.* ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestria'' has Killing Joke, a plant which specializes in this. Either it kills its victims directly in some ironic way, such as a zebra who said at one point she felt like her stripes were great wounds in her skin having her stripes becomes massive open wounds when touched by a vine, or it simply sets things up for a third party to cause it, such as turning a Hellhound who was about to kill some ponies into a pony. Said ponified Hellhound was then killed by the other Hellhounds who thought he was simply one of the ponies they were hunting.* Comicbook/RasAlGhul in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6438802/45/A-Spark-of-Genius A Spark of Genius]]'' claims that [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander]] is a more fitting heir than Franchise/{{Batman}} as unlike Batman, he's willing to kill those who stand against him. He later pushes Xander too far by trying to take his fiances and minions hostage, causing Xander to kill him then vaporize the body to insure he doesn't come back.* In ''WebVideo/MarioWarfare'', [[spoiler:Wario]] killed the King. He gets finished off by using a piece of the King's cape to choke him to death.* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8966727/11/Vengeance-from-the-grave Vengeance from the Grave]]'' Harry, who was forced by the toad-like Dolores Umbridge to write "I must not tell lies" with a Blood Quill until it was ''carved into the back of his hand'', magically compels her to write "I must not eat flies" with a Blood Quill stuck to her hand before leaving the room. She's later found dead of blood loss, having written all over her office walls after running out of paper.* In ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/CatchYourBreath'' [[spoiler:Black Zetsu's]] death is very ironic and ''very'' satisfying (for the readers). [[spoiler:Minato]] gives him to the Shinigami as the soul price for sealing [[spoiler:Yang Kurama into Naruto]]. [[spoiler:Black Zetsu]] was the one who extracted said [[spoiler:half of Kurama]] from [[spoiler:Kushina]] in the first place.* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/253045/i-am-going-to-save-and-or-destroy-equestria I Am Going To Save And/Or Destroy Equestria!]]'': Arabus gets eaten by King Sombra, who comments, "A fate both ironic and poetic: The shadow-eater, eaten by the king of shadows."* ''Fanfic/TheLifeAndTimesOfAWinningPony'': Early in ''The Lunar Rebellion'', the rebels create a constant rainstorm over Canterlot in an attempt to flood the city and force its surrender, using up most clouds in the local countryside. This diversion of clouds has the effect of causing a great deal of drought in the surrounding land. At the end of the war, [[spoiler:the royalists, after adding to this a bit with some increased sunshine and draining of the remaining water, turn this against the rebels. A massive fire spell later, the entire rebel army is immolated by the side effects of what was intended to gain them a quick victory.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* At the climax of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', the last thing Judge Claude Frollo says before his DisneyVillainDeath is, "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" The gargoyle he is standing on then breaks, seems to come to life as ''{{Satan}}'' himself, and he falls to the pit of molten copper below and to his doom, letting loose with a BigNo all the way.* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' ends with Lord Shen crushed to death by his own cannon. * Syndrome’s Omnidroid in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' originally rips out its own innards while attempting to kill Mr. Incredible, who has sneaked inside the droid, having realized that “the only thing strong enough to penetrate it is itself.”* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', Oogie planned to make Santa and later Sally into snake-and-spider stew and ends up having all his bugs fall into the concoction, becoming stew himself.* ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': The evil queen who wanted to be the ''most beautiful of all'' dies while being in disguise as an ugly old witch. Cornered on a cliff by the dwarfs, the disguised Queen then tries to knock a boulder loose and bellows "I'll fix ya! I'LL CRUSH YOUR BONES!!" She cackles madly...when suddenly, a bolt of lightning shatters the ledge she's standing on, sending the wicked Queen plummeting into her doom, shortly followed by the boulder falling after her. Don't even guess whose bones got crushed...* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coonskin}}'': Madigan, a racist white mafiosi, is drugged and blackfaced by the Brothers, then shot to death by police men who think he is just some black man with a gun. * ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'', As Ursula is about kill in Ariel with the trident, she bellows, "SO MUCH FOR TRUE LOVE!!!" Then Eric steering one of the sunken ships Ursula rose from the waters, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice plows the bow of the ship into Ursula's chest]], killing her. True love ''does'' conquer all!* ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' ends with Lord Barkis, who had murdered his bride Emily on their wedding night, drinking the poison meant for Emily to kill her new groom Victor at their wedding.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* The Music/{{vocaloid}} songs series ''[[Franchise/EvilliousChronicles The Seven Deadly Sins]]'' by Music/{{mothy}} has plenty of this:** In "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkrwKCRJH-s Conchita]]", the titular character ''eats herself''. ** In "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV99NZmurVA Venomania]]", the duke is killed by a man dressed like a woman.** In "Judgement", Marlon is sent to Hell with the ''exact same words he gave criminals''.** In "Princess who Brought Sleep", Margarita commits suicide by drinking the poison she had given to everyone.* ''Another Irish Drinking Song'' by "Da Vinci's Notebook":--> Irony was what befell me Great Grand-Uncle Sam\\He choked upon [[UsefulNotes/IrishPotatoFamine the very last potato in the land]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion And Mythology]]* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, son of a carpenter, died on the cross, one of the things carpenters manufactured in his lifetime. Even more ironic is the fact that the Roman authorities crucified him because it was considered to be the most degrading execution method. A few centuries later the cross has become a symbol of martyrdom, worn by many Christians to commemorate whom they consider to be the most admirable human being who ever lived. * ''Literature/TheBible'' [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2014:25-26&version=NIV describes]] one of the rebellious sons of King David, Absalom, as a very handsome man with a magnificent mane of hair. His [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2018&version=NIV death]] is therefore rather ironic. To clarify: Absalom instigated a revolution, and overthrew his father, King David. Eventually, David would regroup, and waged more battles in order to drive out Absalom. At the Battle of Ephraim Wood, Absalom got his magnificent mane caught in the low-hanging branches of an oak tree as his steed rode beneath, leaving him hanging there for days until Joab, David's chief minion, found and killed him.* [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]] is so rife with this trope, one could even say the Greeks lived in the "Irony Age." Case in point: [[MeaningfulName Procrustes]] was an evil innkeeper who made all of his vict–, er, "guests" sleep in an iron bed. If the guest was too short, he would stretch them to fit, too tall, and he lopped off whatever overlapped. When he took in the hero, Theseus, as his guest, Theseus killed him by [[StealthPun forcing him to lie in the bed he made]]. [[TheUnreveal No one knows if he was too short or too tall]], though, one version simply had Theseus chopping the jerk to bits. In another, Theseus finds him too short, ''over''stretches him, and ''then'' cuts him back down to size.* Another one of Theseus's villainous victims was an elderly bandit, Sciron, who lived on a cliff-side path. Sciron demanded, because of his apparent age, that everyone who passed by must give him his due respect by washing his feet. Of course, when the schmuck bent over to do so, Sciron pushed them off the cliff, where the corpse would be eaten by his partner in crime, a monstrous sea turtle. Guess what happened when he tried to pull this schtick with Theseus.* King Diomedes was given a quartet of fire-breathing, [[ImAHumanitarian man-eating]] [[CarnivoreConfusion mares]] by his father, Ares. Hercules stole these mares, and tamed them by forcing them to eat their former owner.* A form of posthumous irony occurred with the Nemean Lion, which had an impenetrable pelt. After Hercules strangled it to death, he skinned the beast with its own claws.* Hercules, himself, fell victim to this trope. He was fatally poisoned by the Hydra's blood when his wife, Deianira, mistakenly used the blood of the centaur, Nessus, whom Hercules slew with his poisoned arrows, as a love potion. To clarify (as much as one can, given the various interpretations of Greek myths), the centaur attempted to kidnap Deianira, and Hercules came to the rescue and slew the centaur with an arrow coated in hydra-blood poison. As he lay dying, Nessus told Deianira to take some of his [the centaur's] blood, and if she ever feared that she was losing Hercules to another woman, use the blood as a love potion to keep Hercules faithful forever. Eventually, Dieanira became concerned that Hercules was straying in his devotion (whether or not he was depends on which writer you choose to believe) and spread the blood on his famous lion-skin cloak. Although Hercules was too strong for the potion/poison to kill outright, the pain did drive him to suicide (effectively), so this story actually contains heavy irony on multiple levels.* The king Polydectes wooed Perseus' mother, Danae, hoping to marry, then ravish her. In order to get rid of Perseus, who knew of his foul intentions, Polydectes invited Perseus to a lavish banquet where all the guests had to bring a horse, as a gift. As Perseus had no horse to give, he, instead, was tasked with bringing back the head of Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon. Of course, Polydectes assumed that Perseus would either die trying, or live in exile as a failure. He did not anticipate that Perseus would receive divine assistance from Athena, and as a result, [[GoneHorriblyRight paid for it very dearly]].* Jason's life went really went downhill after the whole "[[WomanScorned dump the girl who murdered her family members for love of you]]" thing. Years later, when he'd been abandoned by all, he found the rotting wreck of the Argo, the ship that had carried him to glory and now lying forgotten and useless, much like himself. He fell asleep under the wreck, and the prow fell apart and fell on his head, crushing it.* One of the things that can kill a [[BasiliskAndCockatrice Basilisk or Cockatrice]] is the crowing of a rooster--roosters also tend to be one half of the parentage of a Basilisk or Cockatrice (the other being a snake or a toad).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': Cyric, a mortal thief, murdering Bhaal, the god of murder. That is all.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* In ''The Insect Play'', the Chrysalis, after spending two whole acts promising to do great things when born, finally emerges in the epilogue as a Moth. She says she will explain the meaning of the whole world, then falls dead just like all the other moths did.* In the play ''The Whipping Man'', the whipping man is beaten to death (Off screen) by a slave, using the first whip that the whipping man had used on that slave.* In ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', the Prince sees the irony in the deaths of two lovesick children of the feuding houses:-->''Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! \\See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, \\That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.''* Raised as a horrible possibility in the [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2013 stage musical]] version of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', which ups the infamous LaserGuidedKarma fates of several of the naughty kids (namely, Augustus, Violet, and Veruca [plus her dad]) into potential offstage deaths -- certainly the Oompa-Loompas' songs suggest that's their fates![[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick: StartOfDarkness'', Right-Eye the [[RedOniBlueOni rash, impulsive brother of analytical and carefully planning Redcloak]] is killed when he finally thinks something through carefully and formulates a well-thought out scheme... Only to have it ruined during the execution stage when his brother does something rash and impulsive. Redcloak {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it.** More recently, Tsukiko is killed by her own wights after Redcloak takes control of them.** Earlier in the strip [[spoiler: Durkon]] is relieved that since he'll return home posthumously, he won't be eaten by some monster. How does he die? [[spoiler: his blood is drained by a vampire]].* In ''Webcomic/ParanormalMysterySquad'''s debut, the deer woman they are chasing is incapacitated when she runs in front of a car.* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Equius, Kanaya, Eridan and Nepeta are killed in this way. Equius is garroted with his own bow - that is to say, the Heir of Void is left void of air. Additionally, he was shot through the leg with an arrow and strangled with a broken bow - after dedicating himself to being an archer, but always breaking his bows and never firing a shot successfully. Kanaya is shot through the stomach by the wand she made for Eridan; her sign is Virgo and she's left barren. Eridan himself is chainsawed in half by Kanaya after she was revived as a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent rainbow-drinker]], or rather, the magician was sawed in half by his lovely assistant (and the Aquarius sign consists of two separate halves, to increase the irony). Nepeta's fate was been left unknown for some time after being advanced upon by Gamzee - that is to say, [[SchrodingersCat the catgirl existed in a state of possible life or death until it could later be observed]]; additionally, Nepeta was the Rogue of Heart, and had the person she cared about most taken away from her just before her death.** Then there was Vriska, whose murder of Tavros by impaling him on his own lance led to Terezi impaling ''her'' with a stabbing cane.* Taken to extremes in ''Webcomic/{{Sire}}''. The Binding being a force of the universe as strong as fate will use dramatic irony as a weapon to punish anyone who does not live up to their story. They call it a [[http://sire.smackjeeves.com/comics/1439466/chapter-4-page-21/ tragic ending]].* Matt attempts to do so to Regules in ''Webcomic/WhiteDarkLife''. The irony being Matt using an InstantKill attack on a boss with two instant kills. Unfortunately, it didn't work.* [[spoiler:Stockyard]] in ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'' dies from hanging ([[OffWithHisHead which also decapitates him]] [[{{Gorn}} for good measure]]). He is clearly fixated on noose imagery (he ties his hair into noose shapes and [[spoiler:uses noose iconography in his brothel]]), and [[GenerationXerox his father was hung]] -- with an implication that he took the fall to save his son, no less.* The main villain of ''Webcomic/WelcomeToChastity'' is a witch who can among other things conjure fireballs and make women's breasts grow larger. She gets killed because of a fire she started triggers a gas explosions which she couldn't escape from since someone made her breasts so huge she couldn't move.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* This is the most common way of choosing an execution method in ''WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum''.* Season 3 of [[WebVideo/AcquisitionsIncorporated Penny Arcade's D&D Podcast]] ends with Aeofel dying in the villain's mansion by getting caught in a acid pit. Later in the first PAX live game, the group ventures [[ToHellAndBack to hell so they can bring him back]] while getting their revenge on the BigBad. When they finally get to her, she ultimately falls into an acid pit and dies.* In ''WebVideo/SplinterCellExtinction'', Julian Hunter is ordered by director Ward to shoot Douglas Hyland (who didn't expect that) in episode 4. And then he's shot by Ward in episode 7. He didn't expect that.* General W of the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' locked two small children in a room with [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-682 SCP-682]] an immortal, extremely malevolent EldritchAbomination claiming it was an attempt to kill the ''creature''. They both got brutally murdered. Later, someone else locked ''him'' in a room with 682, claiming ''it'' was an attempt to kill the creature. He got brutally murdered.** It's all but explicitly stated, however, that this was supposed to be karma.-->'''Dr. Clef''': Fucking sadistic asshole. I've got no sympathy for that moron whatsoever. Introducing children to this fucking monster? [[EvenEvilHasStandards What the hell…]]** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-823 SCP-823]] ran on this trope before it was abandoned. The following are just ''a few'' deaths that occurred there:-->Two (2) individuals, male and female, [[BodyHorror fused together at multiple points after emerging from the "Tunnel of Love" dark ride]]. (dead)

-->One (1) individual wearing a "Happy Hippo" mascot uniform, found dead of suffocation. Mouth, trachea, and lungs were discovered to be filled with a fibrous substance later determined to be identical to the stuffing in said mascot uniform. (dead)

-->Fifteen (15) individuals recovered from the "Thriller Chiller" roller coaster, [[OffWithHisHead all decapitated by blunt force]]. Witnesses reported that the deaths did not occur simultaneously, but in groups of two, starting with the front row of seats and ending with the back. Forensic analysis indicates that each set of deaths corresponded to a loop or turn in the roller coaster's tracks. (dead)

-->One (1) individual recovered from under the "Thriller Chiller" roller coaster, dead of [[NeckSnap broken neck]] and massive cranial trauma caused by a [[GravityIsAHarshMistress fifty-foot fall from an inverted position]]. Individual was seated at the back of said roller coaster, and somehow managed to extricate self from the ride's safety harness halfway through the ride. (dead)

-->One (1) individual found [[NotEnoughToBury dismembered]] inside the "House of Mirrors" attraction. Left arm was found sixteen feet to the north from the torso. Left leg was found inverted and attached to the ceiling by sinews. [[IAmAHumanitarian Right leg was found in the possession of Subject 79, partially consumed]] (forensic analysis indicates that teeth marks found on flesh and bone of said leg are human in origin). To date, no trace of right arm has been found. ([[AndIMustScream alive]]) * ''[[WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged World's Strongest Abridged]]'': In this continuity, Doctor Wheelo was a famed cancer researcher. He died of lung cancer. He lampshades it during his introduction. [[spoiler:It's mentioned in ''Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan'' that he would later die again, this time of brain cancer.]]* In ''Machinima/FalloutLoreTheStoryteller'', the Nuka-Junkie, a psychopath addicted to [[FantasticDrug Nuka-Cola]] who appears in the Season 1 finale and a mini-story arc spanning two episodes in Season 2, is blown up with a Nuka-Grenade, which is a weapon powered by the very same special edition Nuka-Cola Quantum that he was threatening the Storyteller's life for.* In WebVideo/NonePiece, Luffy gets unreasonably mad at a group of pirate cat neuterers and kills them all by [[FreudWasRight ripping off the front rod of their cat-shaped ship]] and hitting them with it. He even lampshades it.-->'''Luffy:''' Prepare yourselves for a visually ironic death![[/folder]]